PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2015

PRODUCTS 41 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 05/15 www.petpla.net KHS presents very light PET bottles for milk and mixed milk beverages Ever lighter PET bottles have been KHS Gmbh’s PET team at its ”Bottles & Shapes” centre in Ham- burg, Germany, have developed a lightweight 1l bottle for milk and mixed milk beverages that is now ready for market. Frank Haesendonckx, head of Technology at KHS Corpoplast, asserted that the ultralight bottle offers the milk industry an interesting alternative to the carton. KHS says that the bottle balances economic considerations, market acceptance and product quality. The milk industry, like the beverage industry, is subject to major cost pressures but must, at the same time, satisfy the highest demands for product safety. KHS claims that the light PET bottle for milk and mixed milk beverages can be filled aseptically; provides product protection; reduces production costs; and is 100% recyclable. The 1l bottle has a neck thread diameter of 32mm and weighs just 20g; similar competitor bottles are usu- ally around 10% heavier, at 22g. The material saving of two grams of PET per bottle can translate to a cost saving of €140,000pa, at a produc- tion rate of 50 million b/yr. Mr Haesendonckx says that KHS can see the potential for even greater weight savings to come. The company says that the bottles can also be easily processed as shrink packs, which eliminates the need for secondary packaging, such as trays, and their associated costs in materials and transpor- tation. KHS observes that being light or ultralight is not enough in itself; the packaging must also convince the customer. To this end, the newly devel- oped bottle is designed to offer convenient handling, with a staggered rib structure provid- ing good grip. Milk products should, ideally, be protected by an ultraviolet light barrier, and KHS’ new product has two vari- ants: it can be produced either as a transparent bottle which is enveloped in a protective sleeve after filling, or as a white bottle with a titanium oxide light barrier The typical vacuum created in bottles by the differences in temperature between hot filling and subsequent cooling has been taken into account by the Bottles & Shapes team. The bottles are manufactured with a FlipBase on a stretch blow moulder before being conveyed by their neck ring, aseptically filled and sealed. The FlipBase is designed to compensate for the negative pressure gener- ated in the bottle. KHS claims that its new lightweight product offers pro- ducers in the dairy industry a lightweight, cost-effective and consumer-friendly bottle, which both protects milk products and is attractive on the shelf. www.khs.com 1RZ /DQIUDQFKL LV DEOH WR VXSSRUW LWV FXVWRPHUV ZLWK D FRPSOHWH UDQJH RI /LQHDU EORZ PRXOGLQJ PDFKLQHV IRU 3(7 FRQWDLQHUV IURP OW WR OW 3RVVLELOLW\ RI VXSSO\LQJ ERWWOH DQG SUHIRUP GUDZLQJV WR WKH FRVWXPHUV /LQHDU EORZ PRXOGLQJ PDFKLQH UDQJH JRHV IURP FDYLW\ XS WR FDYLWLHV IRU DQ\ NLQG RI ERWWOH LQ WHUPV RI VKDSH DQG GHVLJQ /LQHDU EORZ PRXOGLQJ PDFKLQHV DUH GHVLJQHG HVSHFLDOO\ IRU ELJ FRQWDLQHUV VSHFLDO VKDSH ERWWOHV DQG ZLGH PRXWK FRQWDLQHUV